Stowage bracket for floats on shipboard



1947- A. N. ANDERSON 2,425,911

ISTOWAGE BRACKET FOR FLOATS ON SHIPBOARD Filed April 28 1944 INVENTOR. ARTHUR N. nwosxsom Patented Aug. 19, 1947 STOWAGE BRACKET FOR FLOATS N SHIPBOARD Arthur N. Anderson, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Helen M. Anderson, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 28, 1944, Serial No. 533,139

1 Claim.

This invention relates to apparatus for supporting stacked floats on the deck of a ship.

An object of this invention is to provide floatsupporting apparatus of the character described having means normally permitting the floats to be floated off the deck in case the ship sinks.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for stacking a pile of floats one above the other in spaced relation, permitting air to circulate between the floats and thereby preventing deterioration due to dampness.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide stacking means of the character described which will support a number of floats one above the other in spaced relation while permittin the floats to be readily taken olf the pile, and being further provided with means to lash the floats to the deck in case of rough seas, the lashing means including furthermore a pelican hook whereby the lash may be easily released in case of emergency,

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a strong, rugged and durable means for supporting a plurality of floats one above the other, which shall be inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, and yet practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanyin drawings, in which are shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical side view of a stack of floats supported with supporting means embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the separators.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a part of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view of floats and separators therebetween and illustrating a modified form of separator.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, l0 designates a float stack embodying the invention. The ame comprises a plurality of floats I l supported on the deck l2 of the ship by means of supporting apparatus l5 embodying the invention. The floats ll may be of usual construction. Each comprises an annular ring Ila of balsa wood or the like material, of substantially circular cross-section. The ring lla has parallel side portions l lb interconnected by semi-annular end portions llc. Each float is provided with a bottom lld attached to the ring Ila by means of a fabric web or sheet lle. It will be noted that the floats ll are supported by apparatus l5, one above the other in spaced aligned, horizontal relation.

The supporting means l5 comprises a pair of parallel similar bottom brackets l6 attached to the top of deck l2. Each bracket l6 comprises an elongated member formed with a pair of spaced notches or grooves l! in its upper surface for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

At the outer ends of member l6 are flanges l8 receiving bolts or screws IQ for attaching the brackets to the deck. The distance between the center lines of grooves l! is substantially equal to the distance between the center lines of the side portions l lb of the floats l I.

It will now be understood that the bottom float l l rests on the brackets l6 with the side portions llb of said float received Within the notches IT. The height of notches IT is preferably substantially equal to half the height of a float so that the upper portions of the bottom float l l projects above the brackets l6.

In between each pair of adjacent floats Ila is a spacing member 29. Each spacing member comprises two pair of similar spacing blocks 2| interconnected by cross members 22 and 23. The rods 22 and 23 may be welded together or otherwise interconnected where they cross as at 24. The blocks H are located at the ends and sides of the floats whereby rod 22 is longer than the transverse rod 23. Each spacing block 2| has a notch 25 to contact a lower float and a notch 21 to contact the upper float. The outer ends or surfaces 28 of the blocks are preferably substantially in line with the center lines of the sides of the floats. The inner surface 29 of the blocks are preferably spaced inwardly of the inner rims of the floats. The spacing blocks 2l thus keep the floats spaced from one another so as to prevent deterioration or rotting due to dampness. There is no spacing member at the top of the stack so that the top float may be taken ofl, and thereafter the top spacing member 20 may be taken off, and so on.

Normally in calm seas the floats need not be lashed down to the deck. If the ship is sunk, the

floats will float off freely in the water. Means is provided, however, to lash the stack of floats down to the deck in case of heavy seas. To this end, there is attached to one end of each bracket IS a pad eye 40. Hooked onto each pad eye 40 is a strap 4i which extends upwardly and over the stack of floats and then downwardly on the other side of the stack. Attached to the opposite ends of the brackets I6 are pad eyes 42 to which are pivoted pelican hooks 43 engaging the free ends of strap 4!. The pelican hooks may be readily released in case of emergency.

In Fig. 6, there is shown a modified form of spacer between the floats. The spacer 20 shown in Fig. 3, is replaced by separate spacing blocks 69 of substantially H cross-section. Each spacing block 69 has substantially semi-cylindrical notches Si in its upper and lower surfaces to receive the underside and upperside of a pair of floats above and below the block respectively. The blocks 68 are not interconnected but the blocks are preferably distributed at the ends and sides of the floats.

It will be understood that the floats may easily be floated ofi the blocks in case the ship is torpedoed.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments 4 above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

Spacing members for use in stowing a plurality of floats on shipboard in spaced, stacked relation, each of said spacing members comprising crossed members and spacer blocks located at the ends of each arm of said crossed members.

ARTHUR N. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PAI- l NTS Number Name Date 673,273 Langlotz et al Apr. 30, 1901 955,842 Biskamp Apr. 26, 1910 1,631,304 Willoughby June '7, 1927 1,921,228 Hetherington Aug. 8, 1933 2,024,411 Willoughby Dec. 1'7, 1935 2,150,960 Bertel Mar. 21, 1939 2,334,336 Lathrop Nov. 16, 1943 2,334,924 Hansen Nov. 23, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 493,946 France May 16, 1919 

